executive order 32

There is great food in Berlin, even if travelers have to wade past the potatoes-and-cream-laden local cuisine to get there. Those who do will find a wonderland of multiethnic delights.

New York's Republican senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, a 32-year institution in the state senate, announced his retirement Tuesday just as the GOP and Democrats gird for an election season that will determine the fate of the chamber and, potentially, New York's gay marriage bill. Democrats need to pick up two seats this November in order to gain control of the chamber -- something most LGBT activists wager would hasten the process of getting a same-sex marriage bill to the desk of Gov. David Paterson, who has supported marriage equality since the mid '90s. Democratic strategists said Bruno's exit raises questions about how effectively the GOP can raise money in his absence and whether they can hold certain constituencies together.

New York governor Eliot Spitzer submitted a bill to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, making good on a promise he made during his 2006 bid for the gubernatorial seat.

Marriage equality in Maryland came one step closer to reality on Friday when a circuit court judge declared a 33-year-old law banning same-sex marriage in that state unconstitutional.

Senator Obama's pledge to spend $500 million to expand religions' social services for people in need is a tough sell to many LGBT activists, even as some lean toward cautious optimism.